A Brief Introduction to Lat Exercises for Women
Would you like to stay fit and fine in your day-to-day life? Then, it is mandatory to incorporate exercise into your daily regimen. However, different workout sessions are dedicated to different body parts. This post is all about the discussion on lat workouts for women.
So, what are lats anyway? Lats (also known as latissimus dorsi) is the expansive muscles starting from the shoulders throughout the hips. In short, lat muscles play a crucial role when it comes to keeping up a specific posture or pulling something. Therefore, you need to try to strengthen your latissimus dorsi muscles through a correct set of exercises.
It may seem to be a piece of cake to start lat exercises at the gym, as correct lat-targeting machines are there to help you out. Nonetheless, how can you manage to start lat muscle workouts in the comfort of your home?
Do not worry! The post would get you covered. You just have to incorporate the exercises in your back workout sessions. On the other hand, if you are really serious about the strengthening your latissimus dorsi muscles, then you are free to devote the entire workout session to lat exercises. So, are you excited to know about various types of lat exercises for women? Let’s dive deep into it.
Lat Exercises for Women: How to Start the Journey?
Start your lat workout journey with a 15-minute session. You would need just a pair of dumbbells. As a beginner, you should start small, so 5 to 10 pounds of dumbbells would suffice your needs. We are going to discuss a couple of lat exercises for women below from which you can opt for any three moves to get into the momentum.
Do not go overboard. Keep it up to 20 reps for each move. Then, you can proceed to the next one. And also, the three-move loop should be repeated three times as a whole. Don’t you want to devote a complete session to lat muscle exercises? No problem, you can add these workouts to your back exercise regimen to cater to your fitness goals.
Bent-Over Row:
Start the session by holding your dumbbells while maintaining shoulder width between your feet. Do not forget to bend your knees a bit. It is time to bend your torso forward emphasizing your hips. In addition, your chest should be lowered in the direction of the floor. Hang your arms freely from your shoulders while keeping the direction of your palms toward your body.
Pull yourself together in terms of your core. Next, it is time to pull the dumbbells in the direction of your rib cage. The process would call for compressing your shoulder blades to help strengthen your latissimus dorsi. Time to rest for some time! Then, lower your back to restart the process and complete one rep. Note that you would have to complete 20 reps. The bent-over row is one of the best lat exercises for women, as it incorporates crucial movements to impact your lat muscles.
Alternating Bent-Over Row:
Start the underhand bent-over row exercise by grabbing your dumbbells while maintaining the shoulder width for your feet. This workout would also need you to bend your knees a bit. It is time to bend your body forward from your pelvis and keep your chest lowered toward the ground to set your torso for the workout.
Strengthen your core and start pulling a dumbbell in the direction of your rib cage. This workout would compress your shoulder blades as well. Do not forget to take a break before repeating the same process on the opposite side. Complete one rep. The total rep count for the alternating bent-over row is 20.
Single-Arm Underhand Bent-Over Row:
Maintain a shoulder-width distance for your feet to start this exercise. Your knees should be bent a bit. Next, it is time to bend your torso forward emphasizing your hips so that you can keep your chest lowered toward the ground at ease.
Instead of both arms, you would have to make use of one arm in the process. Hang your arm from the shoulders while keeping the direction of your palm upward. Next, strengthen your core and start pulling the dumbbell toward the rib cage while compressing the shoulder blades in the process. Take a break in the middle before restarting the process to complete one rep. Note that you need to complete 20 reps on both sides respectively.
Bent-Over Fly:
As you can see from the above exercises, lat exercises for women are not that tough if you maintain the correct procedure. Take your dumbbells and maintain the hip-width for your feet. It is time to bend forward emphasizing your buttocks. Your arms should be hanging directly from your shoulders while your palms need to be directed upward.
Then, elevate both of your arms out to the respective sides while compressing your shoulder blades as a whole. Repeat the process to complete one rep. The total rep count for bent-over fly should be 20. As you perform this workout, you would start feeling a bit of pressure on the latissimus dorsi area, which would, in turn, help to strengthen your lat muscles.
Superwoman:
You do already know that all the above workouts follow a fair share of similarities. However, the superwoman exercise for lat muscles is quite different. You need to lie down on the ground on your abdomen. Next, stretch out your arms as well as legs. It is time to compress your glutes and elevate your body. Stretch out and take your legs upward as much as possible.
Hold the position from one to two seconds. Get back to the initial position slowly and restart the process to complete one rep. The total rep count in this regard should be 20. If you do not want to get into standing-posture workouts, superwoman can make one of the best lat exercises for women for you.
Alternating Superwoman:
It is a simplified version of the superwoman exercise. Hence, beginners would find it easier to perform than its complex counterpart. Maintain the same position for your torso that was mentioned for the superwoman workout. The difference is that you have to stretch out and take one arm and leg upward at a time.
Note that you need to lift your right arm and left leg at a time whereas your left arm and right leg in the next. Do not forget to hold the position for one to two seconds. Return to the initial position at a slower pace to repeat the process on the other side. Complete one rep and keep doing that for 20 reps.
Renegade Row:
When it comes to the best lat exercises for women, Renegade Row deserves to be mentioned. This workout needs you to maintain a pushup position while dumbbells should be there in your hands. Stretch out your arms and maintain hip-width for your feet. Next, it is time to bend the right arm while keep elevating the dumbbell to your chest level.
Single-Leg Row:
Start the process by grabbing the dumbbell in your right hand. Note that the weight needs to be directed toward your body. It is time to elevate your right foot a bit behind your torso. It is time to hinge forward and target your body weight below your shoulder while you start lowering your body.
Note that you also have to elevate your right leg until your body and your leg become parallel to the ground. It marks the starting point of the single-leg row exercise. Next, put your body weight on the rib cage. Take a break and get back to the starting point to complete one rep. The total rep count on each side in this regard should be 20.
Sporty Asian woman exercising with lat pulldown machine to build arm and shoulder muscle in fitness gym. Bodybuilding and healthy lifestyle concept.
Wrapping Up
Now, you are familiar with some of the best lat exercises for women. It is time to strengthen your latissimus dorsi muscles to lead a happy and healthy life. Hence, what are you waiting for? Choose your favorite three workouts from above and start your journey today!
